Corus Ent. Inc. announced a new organizational structure for its television and content divisions. Corus Ent.s will focus on its kids portfolio highlighted by the integration of Nelvana Studios into the television division and the creation of Nelvana Enterprises, a separate business unit that will focus on leveraging Corus intellectual property internationally. Secondly, Corus will also focus on a new lifestyle, drama and movies portfolio for the television division highlighted by the amalgamation of Movie Central, W Network, CMT and SCREAM into one integrated portfolio and the consolidation of Movie Centrals operations into Corus Toronto broadcast center.
In an evolving world of new content delivery options, this new structure allows us to strengthen our connection with our audiences across all platforms while delivering on our companys strategies and business objectives, said John Cassaday, president/ceo, Corus Ent.
Todays kids are far more media and tech savvy than previous generations and are demanding the content they want on the platforms they choose, said Cassaday. With a more integrated approach, Corus can build its renowned brands and invest in more new media initiatives like Treehouse On Demand, TreehouseDirect and our top-ranked kids entertainment sites, YTV.com and teletoon.com.
Nelvana Studios will be integrated into the new kids portfolio. Scott Dyer becomes evp/gm, kids, reporting to Paul Robertson, president, Corus Television. Dyer will be responsible for overseeing YTV, Treehouse, Discovery Kids Canada and Nelvana Studios. This move focuses development activity, ensuring that Corus is creating content that meets the programming needs of its broadcast networks. The new structure will also maximize new platform efforts, an increasingly important segment of the kids portfolio, and create brands with outstanding international potential. In his new role, Dyer will also be the Corus conduit to programming execs at TELETOON, and Nelvana Studios will continue to provide content to meet that networks unique needs.
Nelvana Enterprises will focus on broadcast sales, new platform opportunities and consumer products licensing for all Corus brands internationally. Doug Murphy becomes president, Nelvana Enterprises, reporting to Cassaday. Nelvana Enterprises will focus on creating international opportunities for Corus, including new networks, new distribution platforms and new partnerships.
Recent deals such as our video-on-demand services with Comcast U.S. and British Telecommunications, and the Corus partnership with NBC, Ion, Scholastic and Classic Media to launch the new U.S. kids network Qubo, are excellent examples of the value of our content in international markets, noted Cassaday.
Nelvana Enterprises will operate out of Toronto, Paris and Shannon, while closing its offices in the U.K. and Los Angeles.
Corus Ent. Inc. is a Canadian-based media and entertainment company. Corus is a market leader in specialty television and radio with additional assets in pay television, advertising and digital audio services, television broadcasting, childrens book publishing and childrens animation. The companys multimedia entertainment brands include YTV, Treehouse, W Network, Movie Central, Nelvana, Kids Can Press and radio stations including CKNW, CKOI and Q107. Corus creates engaging branded entertainment experiences for its audiences across multiple platforms. A publicly traded company, Corus is listed on the Toronto and New York exchanges. For further info, visit www.corusent.com.
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